Over 25 years of industry excellence
For more than 25 years, AI-QS has leveraged its extensive industry expertise to consistently deliver excellence, spearheading innovation and transformation within the construction sector. This is AI-QS story so far.. _ [February 2025]
The AI-QS journey
We began life as a complex, misunderstood idea, borne in 1993 that couldn’t find the support to deliver our business model, finally morphing into a business, that was created in February 2003. Regrettably, we were forced to be patient in our application of neural networks and hypertext-expert systems, rendering our business model being placed on hold’ for 22years.
With the arrival of ChatGPT in November 2022, some twenty (20) years later,our the idea was validated’ and our journey was propelled into action into action against the backdrop of a few significant events and milestones; further articulated below.
Key ‘events & milestones’
As a business, AI-QS literally evolved from a final year thesis, that was written and submitted (in July 1994) by our Founder & CEO, Dr Bola Abisogun OBE. At that time, he had a bold vision to deploy the use of artificial neural networks [current day AI] and hypertext-expert systems [current day ML] into the process of construction claims / dispute management.
Supported by the UK government [of the time] and the wider industry, the influential Latham Report, called ‘Constructing the Team’ – was published in July 1994, which identified systemic failings in the UK construction industry. Just some of the more notable failures, condemning industry practices [at that time] included as 'adversarial', 'ineffective', 'fragmented', 'incapable of delivering for its clients' and 'lacking respect for its employees' _ [Wikipedia]. Most still hold true today, some 30 years later.
Led by a documented industry disruptor, our Founder & CEO, Dr Bola Abisogun OBE, who achieved professional RICS qualification in December 1999, he has pioneered this vision initially designed as a ‘Co-Pilot’for the PQS and then set up the business in February 2003.
A digital twin is an integrated data-driven, virtual representation of real-world entities and processes, with synchronized interaction at a specified frequency and fidelity. They are transforming construction by creating dynamic digital replicas of physical assets and are the result of continual improvement in modelling and engineering. Relevant ‘use-cases’ include the optimisation of building energy performance and carbon measurement. One of the earliest examples of a working 'digital twin' was achieved in 1996 during construction of the Heathrow Express facilities at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 1.
Though the concept originated earlier (as a natural aspect of computer simulation generally), the first practical definition of a digital twin originated from NASA in an attempt to improve the physical-model simulation of spacecraft in 2010.
“The next stage in the digital revolution has begun and digital technology is changing the way we plan, build, maintain and use our social and economic infrastructure. Building Information Modelling (BIM) had begun to positively impact the UK construction industry – a vitally important sector that employed more than three million people and in 2010 delivered £107billion to the UK economy. Above all, it will enable citizens to make better use of the infrastructure we already have. This is Digital Built Britain (DBB)”.
In support of the looming impact of BIM upon the surveyor and specifically the Cost Manager, overseen by Alan Muse FRICS & Anil Sawhney FRICS, the RICS created a guidance note: BIM for Cost Managers; requirements from the BIM Model (1st Edition, August 2015).
UK Government instigates the Level 2 BIM mandate, to be applied to all UK government funded projects; in 2011 the Government Construction Strategy mandated the use of Level 2 BIM on all public sector projects by 2016. Linked to the Digital Built Britain strategy it was an attempt to build on the achievements of the Level 2 BIM programme, which allowed projects such as Cross Rail, the 2012 Olympics, Cookham Wood Prison and a whole host of other projects to refine our approach, deliver the standards, methods and tools and demonstrate that significant learning and savings can be made through the use of digital technologies, such as BIM.
The Centre for Digital Built Britain ‘CDBB’ [hosted at the University of Cambridge] published the Gemini Principles ensuring the overarching principles required to design and support the National Digital Twin programme; the work of which concluded in September 2022. Our Founder & CEO, Dr Bola Abisogun OBE, was included in the team appointed to co-author the Digital Twin Toolkit , which culminated into the Gemini Papers , which remains the ‘ground-zero’ for knowledge about digital twins.
The leadership team at Southeast Consortium ‘SEC’, led by Marc Baines approach and appointed our Founder & CEO, Dr Bola Abisogun OBE, to Chair the BIM Working Group.
The principal objective of this two-year appointment was to ‘introduce BIM to the social housing sector’ and specifically, the SEC client base. Our Founder & CEO, Dr Bola Author: Dr Bola Abisogun OBE, led a team of industry experts and that is where the ‘collaborative friendship’ with Patrick King, was birthed.
Approached by the Senior Leadership Team (in June 2020) at the Centre for Digital Built Britain ‘CDBB’ [hosted at the University of Cambridge]; our Founder & CEO, Dr Bola Abisogun OBE presents, with support from TechUK his ‘use-case’for digital twins in social housing, with a focus on CAPEX / OPEX optimisation and decarbonisation of existing (legacy) assets
As an industry facing ‘thought-leader’the RICS engaged with Dr Abisogun OBE and host an online webinar to review the emergence of the ‘new’ RICS Cost Prediction profession statement [July 2021] World Built Environment Forum's PostLinkedIn · World Built Environment Forum10+ reactions · 3 years ago
“Digital disruption is here to stay in construction; it is no longer simple enough to view this as the province of the BIM practitioner, or exclusively view digital as something that can be model based. Data and technology offer a new opportunity to connect. Recent reports such as the Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s Transforming Infrastructure Performance Roadmap and the Centre for Digital Britain’s Value of Information Management in Construction emphasise the growing body of evidence that digital can disrupt across all aspects of the project delivery life cycle – from design, to construction, all the way through to social value.” _ excerpt from the 1st RICS Digitalisation in Construction Report, penned by Andrew Knight and Anil Sawhney [June 2022]
Approached by RICS during late 2021, our Founder & CEO, Dr Bola Abisogun OBE was invited to proof-read and author the Foreword to the inaugural edition of the ‘Digital twins from design to handover of constructed assets’ published in March 2022
As a parting gesture, following his earlier appointment during October 2021, Dr Abisogun OBE joined a team of industry ‘subject matter experts’to co-author the ‘legacy’ document to be produced by the Centre for Digital Built Britain ‘CDBB’ [hosted at the University of Cambridge]. In March 2022, the Gemini Papers were released, with the over-arching message of the paradigm shift taking place with digital construction, being underpinned by an ’eco-system’ of connected digital twins.
On the back of the tragedy of Grenfell Tower, which took place on 14th June 2017, the Building Safety Bill, received Royal Assent on 28th April 2022 – and the Building Safety Act 2022 is enacted, with a transitional period of two (2) years
ChatGPT is a generative artificial intelligence chatbot which was developed by OpenAI, launched in November 2022 and offered up to the world as a co-pilot / chatbot.
“The construction sector has long been associated with traditional practices and a slow adoption rate of innovative technologies. However, recent years have witnessed a remarkable shift towards digitalisation, with firms embracing innovative tools and processes to enhance efficiency, productivity and sustainability. Digitalisation is transforming construction by fostering whole-life asset thinking and enhancing social value measurements. While 57% of respondents affirms that digital tools can improve these areas, there’s still significant room for growth, with 41% and 46% not yet using such tools for whole-life asset thinking and social value measurement, respectively.
As the industry shifts toward outcome-based approaches, digitalisation provides invaluable access to historical social impact data for more effective benchmarking. As we look towards the future, the report pinpoints critical trends that are poised to shape the digitalisation landscape in the construction sector. Among these trends, the adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies stand out as particularly significant. This report highlights the vital role of digital technologies in the construction industry, particularly in addressing climate change and encouraging economic progress. It shows that despite an increased survey response rate in 2023, digital adoption in the sector is stagnating, particularly in areas like carbon emissions calculations and whole-life assessments” _ excerpt from the 2nd RICS Digitalisation in Construction Report, penned by Andrew Knight and Anil Sawhney [June 2023]
Patrick King, appointed as Director of Operations, AI-QS [October 2024] “Quantity surveyors are at the heart of building projects; we are often involved from conception through to completion and beyond. Our skills and expertise underpin the success of major investments. As a profession, we have always sought to do the best for our employers and clients, and adopted new ways of working to achieve this. Digital tools are already well-embedded in the work of most quantity surveyors, and this can be seen in the report, where digitalisation of cost and quantity data is prominent. However, there is increasing demand for modelling, measuring and monitoring more than this. In that context, it is striking that more than half of respondents do not apply digital tools to whole-life or whole-asset approaches
It is also noticeable that it is newer areas of measurement and reporting – carbon, ESG and social value – that show the highest proportion of those unconvinced by digitalisation’s promised improvements. In fact, we see a digital divide opening. The 2023 survey findings indicate that, despite anticipated positive advancements from AI, especially GenAI, the overall adoption rate has remained unchanged. The most troubling news is this: the adoption rate has stagnated in critical areas like carbon emissions calculations and whole-life carbon assessments, which show no improvement. There is a clear role for RICS in supporting professionals to develop their understanding, noting that the digitally empowered surveyor will be in demand. Justin Sullivan FRICS, 143rd President of RICS [January 2025]
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"We drive positive transformation by boosting efficiency, streamlining the supply chain, and amplifying the construction and maintenance industries’ impact on our world."
